“...At least half of my child’s friends in physics or engineering have been attracted to work for Wall Street (algo trading, data analysis), or the biggest tech - Amazon, Google, Facebook. Another large portion will continue their studies (mostly paid for by the universities) at PhD level. Presumably they will do research at university or government laboratories. Remember too that probably 10-20% of these graduates are foreign nationals as well. ...”
My thoughts!
I can see why, when you’re starting out & you have a BS. - Well big money from Wall Street firms but “ugh” you like have to live in NYC. I guess that’s exciting when you’re young (It didn’t excite me! At any age!) But very expensive to live there!
“..Amazon, Google, Facebook ....” - Again good money & its where all the “cool kids” are! I personally hate the locations of these companies.
“...Another large portion will continue their studies (mostly paid for by the universities) at PhD level. ....” - When you have a BS in Physics this is what you are expected to do! If you don’t chances are you’ll end up a code cutter at some industrial giant. In this case master’s degree is a good investment. A MS in engineering with a BS in physics is a great attractive combination for industry. Only pursue the PhD if you feel you have to have it. Its not a bad choice but its a lot of work & time. In my experience the pay-off ($$$) between MS & PhD is much flatter then between BS & MS ($$$$).
“....probably 10-20% of these graduates are foreign nationals as well .....” - Try 60%-70% foreign nationals! Almost 40 years ago when I was in grad school it was easily 50%-60% foreign nationals. I had classes where I was the only US guy.
“...I heard of one boy, from last year’s class, who is working at Boeing. ....” - You work for one of the DOD giants, its like working for the government. They’re bloated risk adverse and are increasingly a “advance-by-diversity” management system. (Government acquisition regulations slowly are forcing them to become a mirror image of the government, except you can be laid off!). I think most of these DOD giants need to be broken up. The Slick administration encouraged these corporate conglomerations to form. Like most things Slick it was a mistake!
The whole “Wall Street / Hedge Fund” attraction for BS grads is so longstanding and powerful, no one questions it, at least at 22 years-old.
it was even the case when I graduated decades ago.
Yes, they pay the best. That, and the name, are how even the smart kids compare and rank themselves. And the smartest kids need and expect recognition more than most. They were raised on it. Moving to Goldman Sachs in NYC carries the same cache as being a varsity captain, or getting into Princeton or Stanford did for them 4 years prior in high school
Trading printed money in the temple is sucking up the top 5% of America’s brainpower. I don’t blame China. Its the system we devised for ourselves. Imagine instead if it were “cool” for the top kids to go into nuclear power design, or materials science, or medical equipment manufacturing, rather than trading money or analyzing social-media app usage trends?
I agree with you 50-70% of stem grad students are foreigners. I meant undergrad - but I could also be underestimating.